Dr. Tiago Gaspar

Biography

Tiago Gaspar received his PhD from the University of Pretoria in 2020. During his doctoral studies, he led element testing and centrifuge modelling aspects of an international research project aimed at investigating the design of wind turbine foundations constructed in expansive clays. At this time, he was a recipient of the Newton Fund UnsatPractice PhD exchange programme at Durham University, where he worked as a geotechnical consultant addressing issues related to swelling clays and piled foundations. Following his PhD, Tiago spent three years as a postdoctoral researcher at Durham University, where he gained experience in constitutive modelling of unsaturated soils and field instrumentation for slope stability and landslide investigations, and developed advanced laboratory equipment for element testing of unsaturated soils. He was involved in collaborative projects with the National University of Malaysia to investigate rainfall-induced landslides. Tiago is a member of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering Journal Editorial Panel. In January 2023, he joined the Department of Civil and Structural Engineering at the University of Sheffield as a Lecturer in Geotechnical Engineering. He was involved in the development of the department's centrifuge facility, with a specific focus on equipment testing methodologies to investigate the resiliency of geotechnical infrastructure subjected to adverse climatic events. Tiago joined Imperial College London in September 2024 as a Lecturer in Geotechnical Engineering, specializing in unsaturated soil mechanics with research aimed at understanding the hydromechanical behaviour of unsaturated soils under changing climatic conditions.

Research Interests